SodaStream Spirit sparkling water maker machine
www.sodastream.com
£99.99

The SodaStream is a classic household brand name. Whenever I mentioned to people that I was reviewing a SodaStream, I was met with enthusiastic nostalgia for its popularity in the 80s and 90s, as well as several people saying that they’d been planning to buy one and being extremely jealous that I had one. It seems that SodaStream has had peaks of popularity throughout the decades, and amazingly, the company actually dates all the way back to the early 1900s. It was founded in England in 1903 – that's almost 120 years ago! I didn’t realise that carbonated drinks dated back that far, but I was very wrong. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that the company merged with Soda-Club and went through its rebrand, shifting its focus from treat-drink to healthier drinks. Now owned by PepsiCo and operating out of Israel, it has 13 production plants around the world, including two in Europe and one in the US operating out of New Jersey. It seems that SodaStream is as popular as ever, and with the current focus on waste reduction, there’s even more reason to carbonate your own water.

We received a classic-looking SodaStream Spirit Classic in black. The same model is also available in red, pale turquoise, white or white and rose gold. The Spirit is the standard model, with the One Touch existing as an electric alternative.  The Spirit Fizzi is definitely a sleek design, only taking up a slim portion of your kitchen counter space. It has a space-age, satisfying feel to it when you use it, clicking the bottle into place and watching the carbonation fizz. There is a clear and definite click when the bottle locks into place, so you’re not left worrying about whether or not it’s safe to hit the gas.

Speaking of gas, the very nature of what a SodaStream is means that the product arrives with a big old cylinder of CO2. Taking it out of the box and setting it up was the closest I’ve come to worrying about blowing myself up in a little while, but I was just being squeamish – in actuality, this is perfectly safe to put together. It’s easy to slot together, too, and then you’re free to conduct your home-based alchemy, carbonating water, or purchasing the syrups and powders needed to make all sorts of popular fizzy drinks, both healthy or sugaring! As well as recreating these branded drinks, you can also experiment with your already-existing juices and cordials.

The Spirit Classic comes with a 60L CO2 cylinder, a 1L bottle and a three-year warranty. It does exactly what it claims to – you’ll have a bubble-filled beverage in moments, all with the press of a button. Everything is easy to put together, easy to clean, and you can cut back drastically on the packaging waste of buying fizzy drinks.

5/5

Pros
Cuts down on waste
Easy to use
Bottle is dishwasher safe
Slim build